paralex element

Sartée Bikes is committed to building bikes that last for generations to come and we want the people riding our bikes then to live in a world that is safer, cleaner and more sustainable than the one we live in now. To achieve these parallel goals we are taking the following actions right now…

Build the best bicycles possible

We feel the best way to reduce our impact on the environment is to build bikes that have no reason to ever be replaced. This means using materials and hardware that will not deteriorate over time, as well as designing our frames and in-house components with a priority on durability over weight and quality over profit margin.

Understand our impact on the environment

The gold standard diagnostic tool for a company understanding the impact of its products is a detailed life cycle analysis (LCA). This tool takes into account the carbon footprint of all stages of a product life cycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing, to distribution, customer use, and disposal or recycling. When done correctly and thoroughly, these analyses tend to be very expensive to implement but provide invaluable baselines from which a company can measure improvements over time.

Sartée Bikes is not yet at the point where a detailed LCA makes financial or practical sense to implement. As a young company, there are just too many variables still at play throughout our supply chain to justify such a detailed evaluation. That being said, we are committed to radical transparency from day one, and to that end we have begun the process of cataloging the amounts and sources of each of the major materials used in our Pickup Bikes.

We are also committed to complete supplier transparency, something that is not typical in the bike industry as a whole. For every component and major part of the Pickup, we have provided company names and even links to the exact parts that are sourced, information that can be found here. We hope that by providing this information to our customers and the general public, we will encourage other companies to do the same, allowing for a stronger connection between end customers and makers of the goods we all use.

Finally, starting from year one, we plan to commit 1% of our annual sales to organizations who focus on restoring the natural environment and build community, both locally and globally. More specifically, we will direct our contributions towards non profit organizations which restore natural habitats that have been negatively impacted by raw material extraction as well as recycle and repurpose unused and end-of-life bike components like batteries, parts, tires and frames.

What does it mean to be made somewhere? Our bikes, and all bikes really, aren’t simply made. Their frames are hand built by real people all over the world, extruders, tube benders, welders, anodizers and painters. Their components are sourced from one of hundreds of suppliers across Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Japan, Europe and USA. This article from Vernon Felton at Pinkbike offers an amazing view into the bike-building industry.

Right now, our bikes are fully assembled at our headquarters in Pemberton, Canada. The main reason we do this is to maintain as much flexibility during the early days of our company. If a part or process isn’t working for us, we have the ability to change it immediately, from one bike to the very next. As many of these variables begin to stabilize, we will consider moving them up the supply chain if it helps us focus on the most important quality issues here at home.

Final assembly, test and pack-out (FATP) is only one of many steps in the process towards making a complete bike. We source about 90% of our mechanical components from vendors in Taiwan and the remaining ones from China. Our front-frame is assembled from raw aluminum extrusion and CNC billet machined aluminum blocks from our partners in China, then anodized and sent on a container ship to Pemberton for final assembly. Our rear triangle is hand-welded and powder coated in Montreal, Quebec and sent to us here as well.

From assembly of the smallest components to welding the final frame, our vendors, welders and staff work hard to bring the elements of a complete bike together. We would like to highlight their stories here, both to say thank you for the hard work, and so you know the monumental effort that goes into each and every one of our bikes.

You can (and should consider) buying the LIFT without a motor.

One of the most important things for us as a bike company is to sell only what is needed and nothing more. Up until five years ago, nearly all bikes sold were non-electric and were relied on for business and personal use. Clearly, there are advantages to having a motor-assisted platform, but there are many circumstances in which it’s likely more trouble than it’s worth. A perfect example is in our hometown of Pemberton, BC.

Pemberton is a small farming community on a floodplain in the Coast Mountains. Despite having hundreds of snow-capped peaks in every direction, it is pancake-flat and sits 600’ above sea level. The village is centrally planned and small, with most things a 5-10 minute bike ride away. So if one of my friends asked me if they need an ebike in Pemberton, I usually recommend against it or at least ask them to consider why they think they need one.

Electric bikes use lithium batteries made from raw material harvested in open-pit mines in Australia, Chile and China. Motors use large quantities of rare-earth metals and copper and have a lifespan after which they will eventually need to be recycled. And motor/power systems add weight and significant expense to the final price of ours, and everyone else’s bikes. If there isn’t a clear need for a motor (or a clear purpose for buying our bike in general), we think you should reconsider.

That being said, we recognize that circumstances change and want to make it as easy as possible to retrofit our bikes with motor kits down the line. We offer electric conversion kits for the same price difference between our electric and pedal version and give you clear instructions for you or a bike shop to make the conversion. If you can test-ride our bike before buying, we encourage you to try it without electric-assist to see if pedal-only is right for you.

Most are, but not ours!

Our hub-mounted direct drive motor is one of the most powerful you can find and is designed specifically for high-torque applications, 85Nm, to be exact. Combined with our high-power motor controller, our made-in-Canada drivetrain will pump out up to 1300W at the wheel when needed, nearly 2 horsepower!

One of our core values is that bikes should be easy to repair by anyone. Most other front-loading electric bikes fall short on this principle by using a proprietary mid-drive motor locked to a particular manufacturer (Shimano STePS, Bosch, etc.). When this motor breaks, you’ll have to hope the company is still supporting repairs, and if they aren’t, you’ll be stuck pedaling a heavy gearbox around and looking for a replacement bike.

Finally, our bike is one of the only cargo bikes with regenerative motor braking, increasing both your range and the life of your brake pads. This is simply not possible with a mid-drive motor. When the brake lever is pulled, our controller engages regenerative braking before the hydraulic system engages to slow the bike down smoothly and top up the battery at the same time.

We’ve designed the BIG LIFT to be left outside and in the rain, although there are a couple of things to consider when doing so.

1. Chains rust, even ours with KMC’s Eco-Protect finish. If you leave it out for several days in a humid environment or out in the rain, you may eventually notice a layer of surface rust develop on the chain. This is ok and the bike is usually perfectly rideable. A quick wipe with a dry cloth and a chain lubricant will get things moving again.
2. Our canvas on certain accessories is waterproof but will fade with significant UV exposure. We recommend storing it in the shade if you’re not riding for extended periods of time.

People steal bikes, even when the most conservative measures are taken to prevent it. Usually theft is opportunistic, so we recommend taking a couple easy measures to make thieves think twice about taking your bike for a joy ride.

1. Use a reputable chain lock (cables can easily be cut with cable cutters or grinders) and thread it through the rear wheel and steel rear triangle.
2. If you’re leaving the bike a little longer, consider locking both the front and rear wheels together and to a bike rack. While just as difficult to break into, thieves will probably pass on your bike because it would be a PITA to cart away.
3. Finally, we recommend storing the bike inside whenever possible to fully eliminate the chance of theft.

We wanted a name that reminds you to think big. Bikes that offer ultimate versatility, that can easily switch between carting the kids to school or daycare and hauling gear and cargo, have the potential to truly replace car journeys. We designed our bike with ultimate durability and serviceability in mind, attributes typically attributed to work vehicles rather than electric bicycles.

Yes, absolutely!

The BIG LIFT has been designed to be fully customizable for clients that have specific needs outside of the normal geometry of our bike. Wheelbase may be sourced longer or shorter as needed, and we can work with you on custom accessories for the cargo bay, from a large-volume delivery container to a mobile business platform. Please reach out to us to discuss how we can help you.